Beyoncé’s new album Renaissance is at the center of another controversy.
Just days after the singer’s team announced an “ableist slur” would be removed from the lyrics to her song Heated, Beyoncé has removed an interpolation of Kelis’s song Milkshake from her song Energy.
In the original version of Energy, the popstar sang a series of “la”s to the tune of the 2003 R&B hit which led to Kelis’s fame.
In the updated version found on streaming platforms Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, the series of “la”s has been removed.
On a fan-made account on Instagram, Kelis, under her username @bountyandfull, said: “My mind is blown too because of the disrespect and utter ignorance of all 3 parties involved is astounding.”
“Some of the people in this business have no soul or integrity and they have everyone fooled,” she wrote.
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One user who commented on the fan account’s post said a collaboration between Beyoncé and Kelis was what “the world really needs.”
Kelis responded to this, saying:
“It’s not a collab, it’s theft.”
Kelis was not credited as a writer of Energy because she is not officially a writer or producer of Milkshake.
Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, also known as The Neptunes, are the official composers and co-writers of the song.
Both Williams and Hugo were previously listed as composers on Beyoncé’s song Energy. But they were removed from the song’s listing on her website once the track was updated.
Writing her own post on Instagram, Kelis said the use of Milkshake was a “trigger” for her.
“There are bully’s (sic) and secrets and gangsters in this industry that smile and get away with it until someone says enough is enough,” she wrote.
On Tuesday, after the lyrics to Heated were changed, Monica Lewinsky, the activist and former White House intern who had an affair with then-US president Bill Clinton, tweeted a personal response to the news and included the hashtag #Partition.
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The hashtag is in reference to Beyoncé’s 2013 song Partition, which includes the lyric, “He Monica Lewinsky-ed all on my gown.”
This marks the second time Beyoncé has edited a track from her new album, which was released on July 29.
In Heated, the singer repeatedly uses a word which is considered a derogatory reference to the medical term spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy.
In a statement to Insider, a representative said the lyric would be changed.
“The word, not used intentionally in a harmful way, will be replaced,” the statement said.
Beyoncé isn’t the only artist to come under fire for using the derogatory language.
In June, American singer Lizzo faced backlash for including the same word in her single Grrls.
The singer faced heavy criticism online, eventually leading to Lizzo changing the lyrics.
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